One of Canada's most acclaimed poets has died. Al Purdy was a two-time winner of the Governor General's Award for his collections of poetry.

"If you pick one poet in this country who represents Canada," said author Michael Ondaatje, "it would be Al Purdy. There's no one like him and he was distinct."

Purdy, who was also a member of the Order of Canada, died Friday at his home on Vancouver Island. He was 82, and had endured a long battle with cancer.

Al Purdy near his home in B.C.
Al Purdy near his home in B.C.

Born in Wooler, Ontario, Purdy was educated in Trenton and Belleville. His first published work appeared when he was 13. The poem earned him a dollar and was printed in his high school magazine.

Purdy recalled seeing the poems in the student periodical and assumed it was an easy way to make a buck.

He discovered later that it wasn't, and spent the next 25 years working at any job he could find. He only began to take his writing seriously in his 40s.

By the early 1960s, Purdy was able to support himself by freelance writing, turning out radio and TV plays, book reviews, travel articles and magazine features as well as more than 25 volumes of poetry.

Author and poet Dennis Lee says Purdy was not only Canada's greatest poet, he was also a friend. "I loved the man," he said. "He was an older brother, a mentor. Gusto was still there even when the cancer had stopped his body."

Purdy's final collection of poems, entitled Beyond Remembering, will be published this fall.